Asia-Europe box rates spike

Friday, November 02, 2012

Drewry said Asia-Europe spot container rates have soared ahead of annual contract talks. It said the Shanghai-Rotterdam container freight rate index increased by 38 percent, or $788 per 40-foot container today, to $2,865 per 40-foot container, "marking the latest of several huge price swings in the Asia-Europe container shipping market." The weekly World Container Index assessed by Drewry, which captures freight rates with a contract validity of up to one month, confirmed Thursday that the price increases announced by container shipping lines from Nov. 1 were largely accepted by the market. “About three quarters of the planned $500-per-TEU rate increases was implemented, based on our market assessment...